Coating machine



March 6, 1934. DODGE 1,949,532

COATING MACHINE Original Filed June 5, 1925 4 Sheets-She't l H. A. DODGE COATING MACHINE March 6, 1934.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed June 5, 1925 I I 9m 6 7 March 6, 1934.

H. A. DODGE COATING MACHINE Original Filed June 5, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 March 6, 1934. H. A. DODGE 1,949,532

COATING MACHINE Original Filed June 5, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 '6: E E 5'; as g N g as x 60 g \;5 32 x r ,l/ l "L. 5

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N //v l/E/V 70R NW QM Patented Mar. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COATING MACHINE Original application June 5, 1925, Serial No.

35,121. 1931, Serial No. 553,295

Divided and this application July 2'1,

13 Claims. (Cl. 1531) This invention relates to coating machines and. is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine for applying shoe treating material to shoes and for polishing them, this application being a division of copending application Serial No.'35,l21, filed on June 5, 1925, in my name upon which Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,888,261,

were granted November 22, 1932.

The above-mentioned Letters Patent disclose a shoe polishing machine comprising shoe treating tools having work engaging surfaces adapted for operating on the top and side portions of shoes and also a rest for a shoe being operated upon by the use of which the presentation of the top and side portions of the shoe to the respective surfaces of the tools is facilitated.

An object of the present invention is to provide improved means, adapted for use in a machine of the above-mentioned type, for example, ;for dispensing shoe treating material to and otherwise preparing a tool which may be, as is herein exemplified, a shoe treating brush having 'lateral and peripheral work engaging surfaces.

, In view of the above, the illustrated novel organization provides for supplying a tool with either liquid stain or dressing or with a paste selectively merely by the manipulation of one or the other of two manual controls, the illustrated construction and arrangement being such that the operator may apply at will as much or as little of either of these materials as is desired. Preferably, liquid shoe treating material is supplied to the tool from a tank by means which, in accordance with an important feature of the invention, rest normally below the level of theliquid in the tank and are arranged for movement to present liquid to a work engaging surface of the tool. In the machine in which the present invention is illustrated as embodied, the above means comprises transfer members which are arranged, respectively, to supply liquid to the lateral and peripheral Work engaging surfaces of a tool of the type referred to above. As herein shown, one transfer member is pivoted to the other and when the former is brought into engagement with the lateral surface of the tool the latter is brought into engagement with the peripheral surface of the tool.

Invention is to be recognized not only in the provision of a liquid dispensing device of the type-above referred to but also in the provision, withmeans for supplying liquid to a shoe treating brush such as one of the type above-mentioned, of va scraping device arranged to be brought into engagement with the tool in order to remove excess liquid therefrom, thus minimizing the danger of spattering or an irregular application of shoe treating material to a shoe being operated on. Further to insure effective operation of the illustrated machine, the opera-.

liquid removed from the tool is conveyed back into the reservoir.

If it is desirable to give the shoe to be polished a preliminary cleaning, this may be done merely by presenting the shoe to the tool before supplying it with the usual amount of either paste or liquid material required for the intended shoe treating operation. Ordinarily only a slight amount of dirt will be required to be removed from the shoe by the tool and a still smaller amount will be retained on the tool as a result of this preliminary cleaning operation. It is now apparent that the scraper which operates on the tool prior to the operation of the liquid devices will serve to remove dirt from the tool before the shoe treating liquid is fed to it as well as to distribute the newly supplied liquid over the work engaging surface of the tool and to remove surplus liquid therefrom.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following claims and the specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the complete machine;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section just above the shoe-treating devices;

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line III-III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of a portion of the machine taken on this same line and showing the liquid-applying members in contact with the brush;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line V-V of Fig. 2 showing the application of the scraping device to the brush; and

till

Fig. 6 is a Vertical longitudinal section through the paste-applying device.

Considered generally, the machine illustrated in the drawings comprises a vertical, motor driven shaft upon which there is mounted a pair of brushes each of which is so designed that it may be used to treat either the top or the lateral surfaces of a shoe presented thereto, one of the brushes being intended for cleaning and the other for polishing shoes. Mechanism is provided for supplying either a liquid material or a paste material to the upper of the two brushes, and the lower brush is made up of a soft material so that it is suitable for use in producing a durable, high luster on all parts of the shoe. A support adapted to be grasped by the user is provided so that he may raise his foot to bring his shoe into various positions with respect to the upper brush to clean off any surplus dirt and may then, by manipulation of a suitable handle, apply liquid to this brush and continue its use upon the shoe to complete the cleaning operation. If he desires he may then transfer the shoe to the lower polishing brush in order to dry the surface before the paste is applied thereto, whereupon he will return the shoe to the upper brush and, by the manipulation of a suitable lever, apply polishing paste to said brush by means of which it may be spread over the whole surface of the shoe. The user will then complete the operation by applying his shoe to the lateral and under sides of the polishing brush which, as illustrated, is made up of tufts of yarn so as to provide a soft, resilient surface especially adapted to produce a high luster upon the surface of the shoe.

In the machine, an upper cleaning brush 10 and a lower polishing brush 12 are mounted in superposed relation upon a vertical shaft 14 resting in a step bearing 16 (Fig. 3) in a base 18. The brush 10 has bristles projecting from its peripheral and bottom faces and the strands of the brush l2 assume a form adapting it for the application of work to either its peripheral or its bottom surface. A pulley 20 is bolted to the upper surface of the polishing brush 12 and is belted to the driving pulley of a motor 22 (Figs. 1 and 2). A standard 24, secured in upright position by a boss 26 (Fig. 3) in the base of the machine, is provided with a handle 30 (Fig. l) which may be grasped by the user to steady himself while using the machine. An upper cover 32 is clamped at 34 on the standard 24 and is provided with a knob 36 by means of which it may be lifted for inspection of the machine. In this cover there is mounted a pointed pin 38 (Fig. 3) engaging a conical recess at the upper end of the shaft 14 and serving as a bearing for the upper end of said shaft. It will be observed that the driving connection between the pulley 20 and the shaft 14 is provided by means of an arm 40 on the shaft engaging the head of one of the bolts by means of which said pulley is secured to the brush 12. The user is protected from the operating parts of the machine by means of an intermediate cover 42 (Fig. 1) having lateral legs 44 and secured in position upon the standard 24 by means of set screws 46 (Fig. 3) passing through a depending hub 50 formed on said' cover. Another cover 48, overlying the driving belt, is pivoted to the depending hub 50 of the cover 42 by means of upstanding ears 52, and its outer end is supported in elevated position above the driving belt by a rod 54 (Fig. 1 restingupon the base 18.

Besides its protective functions the intermediate cover 42 is so designed that it serves as a rest for the foot of the user while he is applying his shoe to the upper brush, and to this end it has a flat, semi-circular surface'56 at the front of the machine which underlies the depending bristles of the cleaning brush 10 so that the user may, by resting his foot upon this surface and moving it around, bring all parts of the upper surface of the toe of the shoe into engagement with the brush. In addition, the cover 42 is provided with two side ledges 58 (Figs. 1 and 2), which are disposed at such a height with respect to the laterally extending bristles of the cleaning brush 10 (see Fig. 1) that they serve to guide the foot of the user as he presents the sides and rear of his shoe to one side or the other of said cleaning brush. This manner of using the machine is facilitated by the construction of the brush, best shown in Fig. 3, in which it will be seen that the bristles are inserted at various angles so that they extend out from and cover the lower surface of the brush and also extend laterally from the periphery of the brush. It is also facilitated by the arrangement of the machine, in accordance with which more than half of the periphery of the brush is exposed for engagement with a shoe presented thereto.

A receptacle 60 for liquid staining and preserving material is supported on the cover 42 by means of a bolt 62 (Fig. 3) passing between lugs 63 and through the cover 42 and by lugs 64 resting on the forward surface 56 of said cover. This receptacle is divided into compartments by means of a complete partition 66 (Fig. 2) and a partial partition 68 (Figs. 2 and 3) extending from front to back. The user is further protected from coritact with the receptacle and mechanism to be described which is contained therein by means of suitably shaped lateral guards 70 and 72 (Fig. 2) formed integrally with a bridge member 74 which is bolted to the partitions 66 and 68 of the receptacle.

The application of liquid to the brush l0'may be effectedby an arrangement, best illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, comprising pivoted bar-like applying members 76 and 82 the active or applying por-' tions of which lie normally below and near the bottom of the liquid in the receptacle 60 so that there is no danger of the oxidation of the excess liquid upon these members as would occur were these applying devices normally exposed to the air after applying blacking to the brush, even though a substantial quantity of liquid has been used up. One applying member '76 is pivoted to the partition 68 at '78 and is provided near its outer end with an applying surface adapted to be raised into contact with the periphery of the brush 10 (Fig. 4). is pivoted to the first member '16 at 84 and has an applying surface 86 which is adapted to be brought into engagement with the lower surface of the brush 10 as the two arms are raised into the position illustrated in Fig. 4 by mechanism attached to the applying members through an upstanding arm 88 of the member 82.

This mechanism comprises a hand-operated lever 90 (Fig. 1) carried at the upper end of a rod 92 which is pivoted near its upper end in the handle 30 and at its lower end in the bridge 74 (Fig. 3). A spring 93 surrounding said rod is arranged to return it to inoperative position when released by the operator. The rod 92 is provided near its lower end with an arm 94 (Figs. 2 and 3) to the outer end of which there is attached a chain 96 secured to a lug 98 upon the upstanding arm 88 of the blacking-applying member 82'.

Another applying member 82' 40.. "'"It will be noted that the arrangement also is This chain is guided, as the arm 94 is swung by thelever-operated rod, by a guide 100 secured to the bridge member 74 and extending rearwardly over the upper edge of the receptacle.

To prevent the inadvertent application of an excessive amount of liquid to the brush 10, a scraper 102 (Figs. 2, 3 and 5) is pivotally suspended by means of cars 104 from an extension 106 of the guide rod 100 passing through supporting brackets 108 formed integrally with the guard 72 and the bridge 74. This scraper is provided with side members formed as parallel L-shaped blades joined at the front by a cross-bar (Figs. 3 and 5). As may be seen from Fig. 2, intermediate uprights are provided which extend outwardly different distances toward the center of the brush 10 so that, by the proper gradual manipulation of the lever 90, one or more of the scrapers may be brought into contact with the peripheral and lower surfaces of said brush. The movement of the lever 90 is transferred to the scraper by means of a depending pin 110 secured in the lever arm 94 and arranged to engage the edge of a cam surface 112 (Figs. 2 and 5) formed integrally at the rear upper part of said scraper. The dimensions and arrangement of the parts for applying liquid to the brush and removing an excess of liquid therefrom are such that the scraper is applied to the brush before the liquidapplying members come into engagement therewith. This provision absolutely insures the operator against spatter-ing of liquid due to an excessive application of said liquid to the brush. The arrangement also permits the use of the scraper blades between successive applications of shoe treating material to remove foreign matter from the bristles of the brush, and, by proper gradual manipulation of the handle 90, the scraper blades may be brought into contact with the brush 10 without applying any liquid thereto.

such that upon a continued movement of the lever 90 both the liquid applying members and the scraper blades are brought into engagement with the bristles extending out from the peripheral surface of the brush and the bristles exempty compartment of the receptacle so that small pieces of the paste which may be dropped Willbe collected in said receptacle and not scattered around the floor. This arrangement is best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 6, and it comprises a container 120 supported upon the liquid receptacle 60 by means of a screw 122 (Fig. 2). A spring-operated plunger 124 extends across the container 120 and normally presses forward the paste 126 which is retained in the container by means of a displaceable cover 128. When it is desired to add more paste to the container the plunger is retracted by means of a handle 130 and the cover opened up, after loosening a wing nut 132, and swung aside around its pivot 134.

To transfer a small amount of paste from the container to the brush, a transferring cylinder 136 is mounted at the front of the container so as completely to close the forward end thereof and is pivoted upon a pin 138 secured in a bracket 140 forming an integral part of said container. It will be noted that the transfer cylinder 136 is provided not only with a vertically disposed, cylindrical surface 142, but also with a horizontally disposed surface 144 formed by means of a flange 146 ex-. tending outwardly from the bottom of the cylinder. By means of this flange the paste will be applied to the lower surface of the brush 10., and it should be noted from Fig. 6, that the receptacle is cut away, as indicated at 150, so that the paste always is pressed into contact not only with the cylindrical surface 142 but with the horizontal surface 144 of the flange 146. An operatorcontrolled lever 152 (Fig. 1) is carried at the upper end of a rod 154, which is pivoted. near its upper end in the handle 30, and at its lower end (Fig. 6) in the bridge '74. This rod 154 is normally rotated to inoperative position by means of a spring 156 and is connected to the transfer cylinder 136 by means of an arm 158 slotted at its outer end (Fig. 2) to engage an upstanding pin 160 (Fig. 6) secured in said cylinder. Thus the operator, by one or more oscillations of the lever 152, is enabled to turn the transfer cylinder 136 sufliciently to bring the part of said cylinder which is coated with paste.:into contact with the brush to transfer a small portion of polishing paste to said brush for application t0 the shoe. I

As best illustrated in Fig. v3, the machine also has a soft, polishing brush 12 which is so formed that the user may readily bring either the top of the toe of the shoe or the lateral portions of the shoe against the brush without danger of contact with any metallic parts thereof. This result has been achieved, furthermore, very inexpensively by providing a brush in which the bristles are made up of tufts of yarn 162 whose inner ends are crowded in between flanges 164 and 166 and secured to the cylindrical hub 168 of said brush. These tufts of yarn are relatively long, and as a resultof the crowding to which they are subjected when they are secured in the brush, the tendency is for the outer ends of the tufts of yarn to spread out and to curl around the lower flange 164 to such an extent that these tufts provide not only a peripheral polishing surface but also a polishing surface upon the lower face of said brush against which the top of the toe of the shoe may be brought with perfect safety. On the other hand, the bristles at the other lateral surface of the brush are prevented from curling around by an extension 1'70 of the lower flange of the driving pulley 20 and, in addition, through a part of their path of rotation, by means of a depending flange 172 upon the platform cover 42. r

In using the machine, manipulation of the various parts, to effect the desired application of liquid or paste to the shoe, may be effected in the manner already described, and the user is enabled to arrange the steps of the operation or dispense with any steps as he pleases in order to suit the particular condition of his shoes for which the machine is being used. Because of the arrangement of the machine, the operating parts are so protected that there is no danger to the user either because of moving parts or because of the scattering of the liquid and paste materials being used.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a coating machine, a brush having bristles exposed at both its peripheral and lateral peripheral surfaces, a tank holding liquid sup-.

ported near said brush, means for transferring the liquid to the surface of the brush comprising a transfer member pivoted in the tank at one of itsends and provided adjacent to its other end with. a liquid-applying surface, and means forraising said device into contact with the peripheral surface of the brush comprising an L- shaped member pivoted to said transfer member with one of its arms disposed horizontally normally beneath the surface of the liquid and adapted to: be-raised into engagement with the lateral surface of the brush to present liquid thereto.

3. In a coating machine, a rotary brush, a tank holding liquid disposed adjacent to said brush,

, an elongated transfer member resting normally horizontally near the bottom of the liquid in the tank, and means for swinging said transfer member to an upright position to engage an upright surface of said rotary brush.

4. In a coating machine, a driven brush mounted on a vertical shaft and provided with bristles upon its peripheral and its bottom surfaces, a tank holding liquid disposed adjacent to said brush, interconnected bar-like transfer members the active portions of which are disposed normally beneath the surface of the liquid in the tank, one of said bar-like members being pivotally mounted in the receptacle, and means for raising said interconnected transfer members to hit one into engagement with the bottom surface brush mounted on said shaft provided with bristles on its peripheral and bottom surfaces, a tank holding liquid mounted adjacent to said brush, and interconnected transfer members for raising liquid from said tank to said brush, one of said transfer members being substantially straight and arranged to swing through approximately ninety degrees from a position at the bottom of said tank to an upright position in engagement with the peripheral surface of the brush and the other of said members having a substantially horizontal portion constructed and arranged to supply liquid to the bottom of said brush.

6. A coating machine comprising a shoetreating tool, movable means for intermittently supplying liquid to said tool, a readily movable scraping device arranged to be brought intermittently into engagement with the tool to remove dirt or excess liquid therefrom, and operating means interconnecting said liquid supplying means and said scraping device for moving them in a predetermined sequence.

'7. A coating machine comprising a rotary surfaces, a tank holding liquid supported near shoe-treating tool, a supply reservoir for liquid, means for transferring said liquid from the reservoir to the tool, and a movable scraper arranged for intermittent momentary engagement with the tool to remove surplus liquid applied thereto, said scraper being so disposed with respect to the supply reservoir that said surplus liquid drips back into the supply reservoir.

8. A coating machine comprising a shoetreating tool, means for supplying liquid to said tool comprising a receptacle for liquid, means for transferring liquid from the receptacle to the tool, scraping means arranged for engagement with the tool to remove any excess liquid applied thereto, and a common lever interconnected with said scraping and said liquid transferring means and arranged to operate them in the desired sequence.

9. A coating machine comprising a shoe-treating tool, means for supplying liquid to said tool comprising a reservoir for liquid, a device for transferring liquid from the reservoir to the tool, a scraping device arranged for engagement with the tool to remove any excess liquid applied thereto, and a common lever arranged to actuate said scraping and said liquid-transferring devices to bring the scraping device into engagement with the shoe-treating tool before the transferring device.

10. .A. coating machine comprising a shoe-treating tool, a reservoir for shoe treating liquid, movable means for transferring liquid from the reservoir tothe tool, movable scraping means arranged for engagement with the tool to remove any excess liquid applied thereto, and common means for moving said liquid transferring means and said scraping means constructed and arranged to hold them in contact with the tool simultaneously.

11. In a coating machine, a rotary shoe-treating brush a scraper for removing excessive liquid from the peripheral surface of said brush comprising a plurality of blades of different depths arranged to enter the brush successively, and means for moving said scraper to bring one or more blades into engagement with the brush.

12. In a coating machine, a motor-driven shaft, a brush mounted on said shaft, means for applying paste shoe-treating material to said brush, a control for operating said applying means, movable means for scraping said brush, and operator-controlled means for actuating said last-named means whereby the scraper and brush may be brought into engagement between successive applications of shoe-treating material to spread the paste on the brush.

13. In a coating machine, a motor-driven shaft, a shoe-treating tool on said shaft, selective means for applying shoe-treating material to said tool comprising dispensing devices for liquid and paste, movable means for scraping the tool and for distributing the shoe-treating material applied to the brush over its face, and cam connections between the scraping means and said liquid dispensing device whereby movement of the liquid dispensing device toward the tool is operative to cause the engagement of the scraper and tool before liquid shoe-treating material is applied to the tool, thereby permitting said scraping means to be used as a spreader for the paste without applying liquid.

HENRY A. DODGE. 

